“Out to DeBunk the Bunk”: Antiracist Teaching in the 1940s and Today

Inspired by horrific racial doctrines of Nazi Germany, American teachers during the Second World War designed some of the most daring and creative antiracist lessons ever seen in American schools. This essay analyzes critical “intercultural” lesson plans from the 1940s to see what they have to offer antiracist educators today. By teaching explicit lessons on the “scientific” definition of human race that demonstrated the biological equality of all people, these lessons highlighted the socially constructed nature of racism.

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Zoë BurkholderNew York UniversityE-mail AuthorZOE BURKHOLDER is a doctoral candidate in the history of education at New York University. She is a Spencer Dissertation Fellow for Research Related to Education and is writing her dissertation, “With Science as His Shield”: Teaching Race and Culture in American Schools, 1900-1954.